An "All-Over" Update ...

Whew!  We've had a busy couple of weeks.  Two weeks ago we moved from our tiny little condo into a much larger, more spacious townhouse just on the other side of town.  It's perfect (minus the little mosquito issue we have)!  It's been awesome here.  We have the nicest neighbors, the kids are loving having room to run around and play outside, and I'm loving not having to lug both kids plus groceries up three flights of stairs!  In a few weeks once I'm completely finished unpacking, I'll make a separate blog post with pics of the new house.  I'm planning to paint the living room, dining room, foyer, hallway, stairwell and upstairs hallway sometime later this month, so I'm not sure if I'll post those pics at the same time, or wait until I'm done, so I can do "before" and "after" pics.

Then last weekend we left for a week at the beach and we just got home today.  We had a blast!  I'll be making a separate post for our trip in a few days once I get all 231 pictures downloaded.  Yes, I think it's safe to say we had an amazing time ... all 231 pictures will speak for themselves!

Henry has completely evolved while we were gone, too.  He's saying so many more words and putting together 2 and 3 word phrases.  I'm a proud mama!!  Here's a little list of the words he can say (only I and a few family members can understand him, though):

Mama
Daddy
Jacob (comes out "Gakob" - I love it!)
Gee
Pap
Kitty
Doggy
Teeth
Ball
Baba (means "bottle")
Juice (comes out "jew" - and he calls all drinks "jew", lol, I seem to remember Jacob doing the same thing)
hi
bye

And, his new phrases are:

Where's mama?
Where's Gee?
Where's Pap?
Where's Jacob? (Where's Gakob? *giggle* it's so cute!)
Where daddy go?
I love you/love you
Thank you (comes out "da doo")

More on Henry's "firsts" on my beach trip blog post .... don't wanna give away too much.  :)

Jacob's gearing up to start his second year of preschool (pre-k).  We go this Thursday to meet his teacher and see his classroom.  Then he starts next Tuesday!  *sniff* I've been ready for a break while he's in school, but now I'm really gonna miss him.  He's my little sidekick!

Anywho, that's our little "all-over" update.  Come back soon to check for some new, exciting posts!

This is it ...

Our last weekend in the only home John and I have ever really had in the six years we've been married.  And, definitely the only home our children have ever known.  We moved in here when I was about seven weeks pregnant with Jacob.  I can remember that because moving day just so happened to be the first day my morning sickness showed up.  :)  We celebrated five wedding anniversaries here and countless birthdays.  Both of our children learned to walk right here in our living room.  They both learned to go up and down steps here.  Jacob learned to count to ten by walking up and down the stairs outside our condo (we live on the 3rd and 4th floor of the building) and counting the steps as we went.  It's safe to say we've made our fair share of memories here.

I can't believe this time is finally coming.  For some many months (actually a couple of years) I've been saying we need to move, to find some place bigger for our growing family, and now we have.  I can't wait to make new memories in our new townhouse.  To watch our children run around and play in the backyard.  To have friends over because we actually have the room (I love to entertain!).  To have family come stay with us because we finally have the room for extra bodies in the house.  And, to make this house a home.  :)

A little update on what we've been doing IN the new place .... Jacob's room was the first that I really wanted to get painted.  One wall was a really dark navy blue and there was boat border all around the room.  We took it down and started painting today.  It was supposed to be a light yellow, but seems to be a bit brighter than I what I had wanted.  I hope and pray it looks food with his bedding and fire truck decorations.  I think the yellow will help the fire trucks POP, or at least I hope it does.  Henry's room will be the next to get a makeover.  We were going to leave his room alone for now because it's in decent shape, but because we have to buy more paint to finish Jacob's room and I don't want to waste it, we're going to do Henry's room in the same color.  I *think* it'll look okay with his bedding, or at least I hope it does.  *fingers crossed* Tomorrow we'll go back and do the second coat of paint in Jacob's room, and then tape Henry's and get started on it.  I think Henry's is only going to take one coat as all his walls are an off white color right now.  We've decided to wait on the rest of the house and just do a room every few weeks/months until we get the whole house done.  I'm excited to finally be able to paint and decorate a HOUSE the way *I* want!

Stay tuned for before and after pictures to come in the near future.

Raising Boys!

I've been looking around for a cute poem that describes the relationship between a mother and her little boy(s) when I came upon this one - it says it all!

For Jacob and Henry ... my love, my life

Raising Boys
by: Roberta I. Teague

I scrub the wall of fingerprints,

Pick up the mounds of clothes.

I sweep the dirt that shoes track in-

Wish I could use a hose!

Meals are served from dawn to dark,

Dirty dishes crowd the sink.

Just when they're washed and put away-

Everyone wants a drink!

The washer pulls the dirty grime

From pants worn thin and patched.

They look so very neat and clean-

Yuck, look what the pockets hatched!

Broken bones and bloody knees,

I should have been a nurse.

I take it all in shaky stride-

Just grateful it's not worse!

Screams and shouts and arguments

Test the keeping of my cool.

They left the neighbor's faucet on-

See their new front yard pool!

A soothing bath is ecstasy,

A reward at the end of my rope.

Raising boys isn't really bad-

But first I must wash the soap!

A rose can say I Love You,

Orchids can enthrall;

But a week bouquet in a chubby fist,

Oh my, that says it all!

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

We looooove Chinese food in this house.  Love, love, love!  When I came across this recipe on pinterest awhile back, I just knew we would be trying it.  Much to my pleasure it was pretty easy to make and soooo yummy!  It honestly tastes like the real-deal Chinese restaurant Sweet and Sour Chicken.  I promise, you won't be disappointed with this one!

The original recipe came from Six Sister's Stuff blog.  There are a few more from their site that I've pinned on pinterest and can't wait to try! (Have I mentioned before how much I loooove pinterest?! lol)

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup corn starch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbsp ketchup

1/2 cup vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  

Rinse your chicken breasts in cold water and then cut into cubes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Dip chicken into cornstarch to coat and then dip into the eggs.  

Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned, but not cooked through.  (At this point, you will totally have that yummy Chinese restaurant chicken smell in your kitchen, minus the sweet and sour sauce, of course)

Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish.

Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken.

(Note: The sweet and sour sauce will be very runny at first.  Fret not, it will thicken up the longer it cooks!)

Bake for one hour.  During the baking process, you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Sunday Survey: Moves Like Jagger

It's been so long since I've done one of these, but here goes!

1. Who makes the best moves in your life?

This is a weird question.  I guess it can be interpreted many ways, but I'll go with moves = decisions.  And, in that case the answer would be my husband.  He is a very good decision maker.  I always trust his decisions 100%!

2. Tell us about a time where you had to be selfish with your time, and felt guilty about it (whether it was time taken from your children or a significant other.

Well, I used to feel guilty all the time when I was working full-time.  My time away from my kids killed me.  BUT, we needed that extra full-time income, so what was I to do?? Let them starve?  I don't think so.  I guess the most I feel guilty about time away from them right now would be on days when I'm super busy cleaning and can't spend as much quality time with them.  And, right now with our move, I'm SUPER busy cleaning and packing almost every day.

3. Do you feel that you can create more sex appeal or that it's just a given?

I guess you can try to create more sex appeal, but who has time?? lol

4. Do your religious beliefs really influence your behavior?

No.  They probably should, but they don't.

5. Do you feel there are some things in a significant other that you can't change because of their sex?

I guess ... 

6. Do you see a younger less secure person when you gaze in the mirror?

No, I think I'm pretty secure in who I am.  Sure I doubt myself here and there, but as a person, I think I know who I am.

7. If you have ever been pregnant, or have been with a woman who was, how did effect your sex life?

Umm ... we didn't have a sex life while I was pregnant.  My poor husband.

8. What would you like to work on to become a better person?

My temper.  Boy do I have a baaaad temper.  :(

9. When did you think that you understood the sacrifices that people in the military make on behalf of their country?

Probably not until 9/11 happened.  It's sad it took that for me to recognize the sacrifices these men and women make on a daily basis, really.  :(

Asian Ginger Carrot Dressing

I will preface this by saying that this recipe includes onions.  I kind of fibbed to my husband and told him that I didn't put them in because he haaaaates onions.  More than anything else, he hates them, and I knew he wouldn't give it a fair chance.  Well they're processed so much in the food processor that you can't even tell they're in there.  He ate a big bowl of salad with this dressing tonight at dinner and said he really liked it a lot.  I felt guilty for lying, so I told him the truth after dinner and now he insists he won't ever eat it again.  We'll see.  :)

Anyway, this is probably my favorite salad dressing of all times, but before I stumbled upon this recipe, the only way I could get it was to buy a pint of it from our local Japanese restaurant.  Now I can make it myself!

I found the recipe on one of my new favorite websites: skinnytaste.com.  It's only 82.9 calories for a 2 tbsp serving, can't beat that!

Below is the missing ingredient ... I forgot it at the store and had to have John buy it for me later on in the day when he was already out and about.  :)

In case you're wondering, you cannot skip this step.  It's what thickens the dressing.

Ingredients:

1/4 c shredded carrots
1/4 c minced onion
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger (and in case you're wondering how to clean ginger root - I was, I've never used it before - you just peel the outer skin and then chop like you would an onion or garlic)
1 small clove garlic
1 tbsp minced celery
3 tbsp sesame oil (you can use peanut oil, also, though)
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the blender/food processor and process until smooth.  Refrigerate a few hours before using to let the flavors deepen.  This gets better the longer you let it sit, I promise!

Here's what it all looks like before you blend it ...

And, here's the finished product!  Enjoy!

We're moving, we're moving, we're really REALLY moving!!

I honestly cannot believe we are FINALLY moving!!!  We've needed more space for some time now, and thanks to great timing and a great friend, we're finally able to have that much needed room.

It's a bittersweet time for us right now, though.  We've lived here for almost 5 years!  When we first moved in, in fact the DAY we moved in, was the first day I had morning sickness during my pregnancy with Jacob.  This is the only home my kids (and our kitty, Bella!) have ever known.  So, as I walk around boxing up pictures, knick knacks, toys, etc., a wave of nostalgia washes over me.

We've made a lot of great memories here, and I'm so looking forward to making many, many more memories in our new house.  In our new place each of the kids will have their own bedroom and we'll finally have our master bedroom back all to ourselves (been sharing with one kid or the other for almost two years!).  The kids will have their own bathroom and we'll have a huge bathroom all to ourselves.  On the main level the kids will have their own playroom separate from our living room.  Then there is a powder room (haven't had one of those before!), a dining room and a kitchen.  There's an unfinished basement which houses the laundry room.  John has plans for turning part of it into a "man cave" and I have a section I plan to turn into a "craft room".  And, one of the best things of all ... we will finally have a backyard for our little hooligans to run around in and be the crazy little boys that they are!  I can't wait!

Our move date is August 17th, and then a week later we leave for our annual beach vacation, so there is a lot going on in our lives right now.  I'll be glad when it's all over and done with.  I plan to blog quite a bit about our journey while we're packing and then about our move, and of course I'll be showing off the house once we're unpacked.  I have a lot of ideas for each room, so it's going to take awhile to get it all the way I want.  The first room I need to paint right away is Jacob's bedroom.  I'm hoping to get in before we move, so I can have it painted beforehand.  It's navy blue and white ... that is just NOT going to work with my little guy's fire truck theme he has going on right now.  :)  Anyway, stay tuned for more updates about our move and all my little projects I'll be working on!!